Viewers have been invited to follow a year in a swan family's life, from courtship to nurturing their young in Hounslow .

John Dale is recording the antics of a pair of swans nesting on an island in Brentford 's Grand Union Canal as they prepare for their latest group of cygnets.

The former Take a Break editor has set up a YouTube channel called Brentford Wildlife Watch, which is an offshoot of his Brentford TV channel, where viewers can keep tabs on the birds' progress.

Mr Dale has described the footage as Hounslow's answer to BBC's Springwatch, but the sight of swans courting and developing a relationship is also reminiscent of popular Channel 4 show First Dates .

The swans are unlikely to see Fred and the First Dates restaurant team during their first meeting

The first instalment sees the swans, which bore six cygnets last year, preparing their nest and performing courtship displays on the island, which lies between Brentford High Street and the Great West Road.

"I've lived overlooking the rivers and canals for more than 30 years and I've spent many hours watching life on the waterways," said Mr Dale.

'The swans are an inspiring example of natural parenthood'

"It reminds us that we share Brentford with many other species. We call them wildlife as if they are almost unnatural, whereas it's us who are the aberration.

"Sometimes we need to pause and ponder on this, and consider how we fit in this world.

"Apart from that the swans are an inspiring example of natural parenthood which plays out year after year."

You can follow the swans from courtship to parenthood on the YouTube channel

Mr Dale has promised to provide regular updates on the feathered family, the mother of which he expects to lay her eggs in mid-April and spend four to six weeks incubating.

He has also invited members of the public to contribute their own photos and videos of other nature in the neighbourhood, which he will share via Brentford Wildlife Watch.